Trump boasted that NATO allies would increase spending because he said so, but Canada's share keeps dropping

U.S. President Donald Trump leaves after a press conference at the end of a summit of heads of state and government at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, Thursday, July 12, 2018. AP Photo/Olivier Matthys

(Bloomberg) — America’s NATO allies, including Canada, are risking another bust-up with U.S. President Donald Trump after spending figures released Thursday showed little movement toward a more equitable sharing of the costs of collective defence.

The numbers sit in stark contrast with boasts Trump made at a NATO summit in July 2018, when he said America’s allies would soon fall into line on his spending demands.

Canada’s outlay dropped to 1.23 per cent from 1.41 per cent, and Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands are nowhere near meeting a pledge to spend at least 2 per cent of their economic output on their militaries, according to North Atlantic Treaty Organization estimates for 2018. Germany, a frequent target of Trump’s criticism, spent 1.23 per cent of GDP on defence last year.

Just seven NATO members met the alliance’s guideline on defence spending, while Spain, Belgium and Luxembourg spent less than half of the target. Washington accounts for some 70 per cent of NATO’s military expenditures prompting Trump to accuse Europe on several occasions of taking advantage of the U.S.

At a July 2018 NATO summit in Brussels, Trump boasted of singlehandedly winning commitments from his fellow NATO leaders to meet and exceed spending targets of two per cent of GDP — even though Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke only of continuing with Canada’s existing military plan.

Wealthy, wealthy countries that we’re protecting are all under notice

“Well, they will,” Trump responded when asked how he would increase pressure on Canada, Germany and Italy if any of the three failed to meet the target. “I have no doubt about it. They all made commitments and they will be up to two per cent. It will be over a relatively short period of years.”

At that summit Trudeau was pressed to provide more details about the U.S. president’s sudden insistence that allies had agreed to spend more — and to do it more quickly.

Trudeau said he did agree to uphold Canada’s commitment to the 2014 Wales NATO summit pledge on defence investment, but said the declaration technically states NATO allies would merely “aim to move towards” the two per cent guideline within a decade.

The U.S. administration is drawing up demands that Germany, Japan and eventually all of its allies pay the full cost for American soldiers deployed on their soil, with 50 per cent on top for the privilege of hosting them, according to officials briefed on the matter. In some cases, nations could be asked to pay five to six times as much as they do now under the “Cost Plus 50” formula.

The president’s team sees the move as a way to prod NATO partners into accelerating increases in defence spending.

Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels on Thursday that the reported “Cost Plus 50” plan hasn’t been discussed at NATO. While he refused to comment on the substance, he noted that the U.S presence in Europe is also important for American security.

“It’s about protecting Europe, but it’s also about projecting power beyond Europe,” he said.